What is Active & Healthy Families?

of Contra Costa Public Health Clinic Services located in Contra Costa County, California. The program is open to Latino children age 5-12 years with BMI of 85 percentile and above. A parent is required to attend each appointment with the child.

Target Population

The AHF program is a model intended for Latino families with overweight/obese children

served by Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). This program is currently offered in selected Contra Costa County federally qualified school-based clinics and has been replicated by FQHCs in two other counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Goal of the AHF Program

The AHF program is designed as a first level family education on obesity prevention.

Knowledge of healthier food habits/lifestyle provides the child and family choices to work on for changes in their daily living. The AHF team guides and supports each participant and their families in their adoption and maintenance of healthier lifestyle changes. The principles of the Four Stages of Change model is the approach used in assisting participants succeed in making healthy lifestyle changes.

Program Content (8 Group Appointments and 6 Individual Monthly Appointments)

The AHF program consists of eight-2 hour appointments every other week followed by

Background of AHF Program

age 2-19 years (PedNSS, 2010). Many Latinos face barriers maintaining good health, such as limited access to health insurance, cultural and linguistic factors, and socioeconomic and immigration status. In response to these barriers, the AHF program offers a curriculum tailored to the cultural and linguistic needs of Latino families.

First Prize Winner of the 2013 Childhood Obesity Challenge

The AHF program for Latinos was the first prize winner of the 3rd round obesity challenge sponsored by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM)

Evaluation and Results of Randomized Controlled Study by University of California (Berkeley)

The AHF program for Latino Families was evaluated by the University of California in Berkeley during the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013 in a randomized controlled study. The study was funded by Safeway Foundation. Changes from baseline to post-intervention (10 weeks) in BMI, fasting blood sugar and blood lipids were compared between the intervention and the wait-list groups. The study took place in two Contra Costa County FQHCs. The participants were 40 Latino children age 5 to 12 years with a body mass index (BMI) of 85 percentile and above and their parents.

Results - Among the first 23 participants enrolled, there was a significant weight loss for the intervention group versus the control group (-0.5 lbs vs +2.0 lbs, p=0.012) and significant change in BMI (-0.6 kg/m vs+0.1 kg/m , p=0.004). There was a trend for differences in change in triglycerides (-14.8 vs +4.8, p=0.12) as well. Attendance to the AHF appointments among the intervention group was high, ranging from 82% to 98%.

The study was published in June, 2015 in Academic Pediatrics and was presented at the 8th Biennial Childhood Obesity Conference in San Diego, California.

INTRODUCTION TO THE TRAINING SITE

To all future users of the AHF Training website for Latino Families,

The training site intends to provide all the materials and curriculum of the AHF program for providers planning to replicate the AHF in their own clinic. The AHF team members’ script/talking points for each group appointment are also included in Spanish and English.

To ensure successful replication of the AHF group appointments program, it is strongly recommended to complete all the steps listed in the ACTIVITY CHECKLIST (below) before starting with the AHF Training website.

Please note that registration to create a Log In account is required for users of the AHF Training Site.

Sincerely,

Daniela Jaramillo, RD
AHF Team Nutritionist

ACTIVITY CHECKLIST

(Steps in the Replication of AHF Pediatric Overweight Group Appointment Program)